Knockdown drafting table



United States Patent 1 1 13,533.,363

[72] Inventor Morris Reiss [56] References Ciied 11 A 1 N Ontario Canada UNITED STATES PATENTS 57; 1 0- Mal ch 18 1968 99,246 1/1870 Shannon 108/153 Patented 13 5 1243,123 10/1917 Wins 108/153 [73] Assignec A" Tube Products Limited 1,537,459 5/1925 Campbell 108/153 I 2,872,269 2/1959 Anderson st 211.... 312/330 Canada 3 330 229 7/1967 F d' d 108 1 1 1 acorporalion of Canada er man Primary Examiner-1ames T. McCall Anarne vGeorge H. Riches [541 KNOCK-DOWN DRAFTING TABLE 2 Clams 7 D r awmg Figs ABSTRACT: A knockdown or dem0untub1e boltless table in [521 US. Cl 108/153 which the leg e formed in pa th eg f each pair being [51 1 Int. Cl A47b 3/06 formed as a rigid unit. The pairs of legs are connected {50] Field of Search 108/153 g h r, y i y connectable and i c nn c a l i e r il 154 155, 156, 111, 114;312/33U to form a rigid table structure, free ofwobble, or dismantled.

KNOCK-DOWN DRAFTING TABLE BACKGROUND OF INVENTION Knockdown tables are in common use where it is desired to ship the table in a dismantled condition. for moving from one location to another and other reasons. An important feature of such structures is that they must be easy to assemble and of course, rigid and wobble free when used. The knockdown structures presently in use do not provide such tables.

DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION The invention herein described provides a boltless knockdown or demountable type of table construction that overcomes the disadvantage of the prior art structures and also provides a table which utilizes rail and leg connectors that can be easily assembled and dismantled without the use of tools. The invention provides a simple knockdown structure which, when assembled, is at the same time sufficiently stable. rigid and accurately assemblable to be useful for applications where rigidity is an essential requirement. It also provides a simple rigid rail-to-post connection that is adapted to mass production application in the metal frame furniture industry particularly in conjunction with readily available extruded or rolled metal cross members.

The boltless knockdown table herein disclosed consists of two pairs of legs, each pair of legs comprising tubular upright members in spaced apart relation rigidly connected together by cross members, a pair of horizontal rails forming side members of the table, each rail having at each end a connector consisting of downwardly projecting teeth, a complemental connector bracket mounted on the side of the upright member each contiguous to the top end thereof and facing inwardly thereof, slots in each bracket positioned to register with its respectivetooth, said teeth having a tapered edge which engages against an opposing slot edge of said bracket to thereby draw the ends of the rails tightly against the brackets when the teeth are forced into locking engagement with the respective brackets to thereby from a rigid unitary structure free of wobble.

The above and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description and drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. I is a perspective view ofan assembled complete table unit embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view of one corner of a table rail and leg showing the front connector construction:

FIG. 3 is a top view of a corner of a table unit embodying the invention with a locking device;

FIG. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. Sis a section on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a detailed view of the removable drawer guide; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary exploded view of the back horizontal rail and connector construction.

The boltless knockdown table unit, as best shown in FIG. 1, comprises two pairs of legs 8, 9, each pair comprising spaced apart upright members 10, 10a connected into a rigid unit by lower and .upper cross members 6, 7. The connection between :the cross members and the uprights is preferably accomplished by welding. The upright members are of tubular form (preferably made of mild steel) and preferably square in cross section.

The two pairs of legs, 8, 9 are connected together by detachable longitudinal horizontal front and back rails 11, lla which will be more particularly described.

Each end of each horizontal rail 11 is connected to its Each upright of each of legs 10a is provided with a bracket 14 preferably of U-shaped. the bracket being welded to the inside vertical face of the upright member contiguous to the top end thereof.

The horizontal rail 11, in the present illustration, is formed as a hollow member of C-form. in cross section. one wall of the rail being bent to form thefla'nge'l'l. Each end ofeach rail has inserted and secured therein a carrier I7, the carrier being provided with'outwardly and "downwardly projecting teeth 18,19. v

The upper crossmembers 7 in the present illustration are made the same as the rails II and have one of their walls bent to form a flange 12a complementary to the flange I2 sothat when assembled the flange 12 which supports the table top 13 extends completely around the inside wall of the assembled rails and cross members.

Each bracket 14 in the present illustration has two slots 15. 16 disposed vertically, one above the other to receive the two notched teeth .18. 19. Each notched tooth has a tapered gripping edge v20 arranged so that when the teeth l8, 19 have been inserted in the slots l5. l6 and the horizontal rails 11, Ha are lowered into place the wedging action of the edge 20 against the edges of the slots l5, l6 pulls the rail ends into rigid abutting relationship with the respective bracket 14. It will be seen that the upper slot 15 is opened upwardly and is somewhat shorter than the slot I6. The purpose of this is not only for ease in assembly but also'makes for improved ,construction in aligning the top edge of the rails. the top edge of the bracket and the top edge of the upright member.

There is also provided a means of locking the assembled connections by way of threaded pins 21 passing through the channel I4 in a position to engage the upper edge of the tooth l8. tothereby prevent the accidental upright movement of the horizontal rail 11 which movement would dislodge the connection.

The back rail Ila, as will be seen from FIGS. 1 and 7, is slightly deeper than the front rail 11. The means for connecting'each end of the back rail 11a to its respective post eomprises a bracket 1411 cut from U-shaped angle iron which has a series of modular slots 16a, only three of the four shown being used. The uppermost slot is a half-slot to simplify the construc tion. Each end of the rail 11a is provided with carrier 17a welded to the upright inside face of the rail Ila. The carrier has three teeth, 18a, 19a and 20a similar to the teeth 18', 19. The two upper teeth are spaced to engagein the half slot and the adjacent full slot while the tooth 20a engages in the lowermost slot of the slots 16a. A locking means similar to pin 21 is also provided for the rear rail.

The right hand rail 7 is provided with a drawer guide 22 which is welded to the side and a'drawer guide 23 carrier between the front rail 11 and the back rail 12. The mounting for the rail 11 comprises a U-bracket 24 welded to the inside face of the rail 11 and an oppositely disposed similar U- bracket (not shown) mounted on the inside face of thefront rail 1]. A removable drawer 25 is supported on the rails 22, 23.

The assembly of the boltlesstable will now be described. To assemble the structure as shown in FIG. I, the first step, of course, is to' place the two pairs of legs 8, 9 in an upright position. The back rail 11 is then brought into position and the teeth on the carrier 17a are entered in the respective slots and then tapped lightly to drive the teeth into secure engagement. The same step is followed to attach the front rail 11. The removable rail 23 is then mounted in position so that it will be supported by the bracket 24 on the rear rail and a'similar bracket carried on the front rail. The locking means is then screwed into position.

To dismantle the table the reverse procedure is followed.

While one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail it will be understood that this is illustrative only and is notto be taken as a definition of the scope of the invention.

lclaim:

A boltless knockdown table consisting of two pairs of legs, each pair of legs comprising:

a pair of tubular upright members in spaced apart relationship rigidly connected together by crossmembers; said upright members being of rectangular cross section: a pair of detachable rigid horizontal side rails forming the side members of the table:

. each crossmember and each horizontal side rail being substantially flat and having upper and lower inwardly projecting flanges. the upper flange terminating in an inwardly facing recessed L-flange to form a longitudinal top supporting flange;

. each rail having at each end downwardly and outwardly projecting teeth;

.a complemental U-shaped connector bracket mounted on the inside of each upright member adjacent the top end thereof;

. teeth receiving apertures in each bracket, the uppermost aperture being in the form of an open slot terminating at the top edge of the bracket; and

. a pair of parallel and coplanar drawer guides. one of said quickly assembled with each rail end held tightly against its respective bracket to thereby form a rigid. wobble free table and dismantled therefrom.

A boltless knockdown table consisting of two pairs of legs, each pair of legs comprising:

a pair of tubular upright members in spaced apart relationship rigidly connected together by crossmembers;

a pair of detachable horizontal side rails forming the side members ofthe table;

each rail having at each end downwardly and outwardly projecting teeth and an abutment which abuts against an upright face of its respective upright member;

. a complemental connector bracket mounted on the inside of the upright members adjacent the top end thereof;

. teeth receiving slots in each bracket and a releasable locking members consisting of a setscrew carried by each bracket. entered through the bracket in a position to engage between said teeth to thereby prevent inadvertent dislodgement of the teeth from the bracket; and

f. a pair of parallel and coplanar drawer guides, one of said pair of guides being permanentlysecured to one of the crossmembers of said table and the other said guides having its opposite ends removably supported by the front and back rail respectively, said support comprising a pair of U-brackets one of which is secured to the inside face of the front rail and the other secured to the inside face of the back rail. 

